Degas preferred this portrait to that of Madame Leblanc. Fearing that he might not be able to afford both, he asked his friend Bartholomé to accompany him at the January 1896 auction, where the two paintings were being sold, and coerced him to agree to purchase the female portrait, if necessary. Delighted that he was able to acquire both--monsieur for 7,500 francs and madame for 3,500 francs--Degas turned to Bartholomé and said, "Look here, you would not want to separate this couple." Degas considered them among his most important acquisitions.